UPDATE: Drone pilot fined $230 for buzzing eagle nest

A Vancouver Island resident has been convicted for harassing an eagle’s nest by buzzing it with a remote controlled drone.

The unnamed offender was fined $230 after disputing a ticket for the incident in Nanaimo provincial court last week. A Justice of the Peace reduced the fine from the original $345 ticket issued under the B.C. Wildlife Act.

The incident took place at a waterfront park in Nanaimo in 2015, said Chris Doyle, deputy chief of the B.C. Conservation Officer Service.

“A witness reported this to the COS and observed that the adult eagles as well as the baby eagles were extremely agitated by the drone,” Doyle said.

It is an offence under the B.C. Wildlife Act to harass wildlife with a vehicle or mechanical device.

The province’s policy is not to identify people who are issued tickets by conservation officers. Suspects in more serious violations are referred to police and ordered to appear in court.